Water circulating system for washing machines



July 13, 1937. '1'; R. SHEETZ 7 WATER CIRdULATING SYSTEM FOR WASHINGMACHINES Filed Feb. 14, 1935- 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I nventm' Attorney Inventm- 5 ShGtkSheef 2 Iiilwg T. R. SHEETZ WATER CIRCULATING SYSTEM FORWASHING MACHINES Filed Feb 14, 1955 l J? B.4Wefz Q QM m Attorney Jul 13,1937.

July 13, 1937. T. R. SHEET: 2,086,949

WATER CIRCULATING SYSTEM FOR WASHING MAGHINES Filed Feb. 14, 1935 sSheets-Shet 5 (D O 0 C1 0 0 C) (D O '2 o o 0 0 o .1

0 (D O 24 I 0 3 0 Pg, 13 l Inventor i LIZCfZ Patented July 13, 1937 NiTESTATES hATENT OFFIQE WATER CIRCULATING SYSTEM FOR WASH- ING MACHINES 4Claims.

This invention relates to a water circulating system for washingmachines and is an improvement upon my Patent 1,959,740, May 22, 1984.

The object of the present invention is the provision of a compact andefiicient water circulating system particularly adapted for attachmentto the container or tub of a washing machine wherein the washing liquidof the tub or container is circulated with suflicient force tothoroughly cleanse the articles to be washed.

A further object of the invention lies in the design of the variousparts going to make up the water circulating system which eliminates allexcess in the number of parts used and reduces to a minimum the partsnecessary for the efficient operation of the circulating system.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a circulating system ofthe character referred to that is strong, compact and durable,

hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote correspondingparts throughout the several views:

, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a washing machine showing anadaptation therewith of a water circulating system in accordance withthe present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof, having parts broken away andshowing certain of the parts in vertical section. V

Figure 3 is a detailed vertical section of the article holding basketremoved from the container or tub.

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the basket.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the drain valve taken substantiallyon line 5-5 of Figure 1. Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the dischargenozzle head.

Referring to the drawings in detail A denotes the substantiallysemi-cylindrical tub or container of the washing machine, preferablyformed of metaland having an open top. The tub or container rests ona'pair of legs H at each end and the upstanding sides IEI terminate in acurled flange [2 at the upper edge. On one of the sides Ill is a handlel3, which cooperates with a handle on the motor bracket, to be presentlydescribed, whereby the washing machine may be moved.

It is within the contemplation of the present invention to stack thearticles to be washed in the basket B and this basket fits in the tub orcontainer A in spaced relation to the inner walls thereof. The basket Bis designed to conform to the shape of the tub or container A to allow acertain amount of rocking movement when assembled therein. The sides andbottom wall I4 are preferably form-ed of sheet metal and perforated soas to allow free circulation of water. The opposite end walls l5 areupright and preferably formed of sheet metal integral with the bottomand side walls. To support the side and bottom walls [4 and the endwalls l5 there are a pair of end frames l6 that are angular in crosssection and the corners'of the basket B fit in the angle of the frameand are secured thereto in any conventional manner. Spaced springs I!extend across the interior of the basket B and these springs are formedwith hooks IS on each end which hooks are trained through pairs ofopenings IS in the end walls l5 whereby the springs are supported in thebasket. There is provided an excess of the pairs of openings l9 so as toprovide interchanging of the position of the springs toaccommodate thenature of the articles supported in the basket during the washingoperation.

The bottoms of the end frames l6 of the basket are formed with legs 20to support the basket when it is removed from the tub or container A,while there are a pair of handles 2! secured to the frames for liftingthe same.

To allow a certain amount of rocking movement of the basket B a pair oftrunnions 22 are mounted on the end walls l5 and these trunnions areremovably mounted in the U-shaped bearing brackets 23 on the inside ofthe tub or contain-er A. Spaced rods 24 extend lengthwise of the basketand are secured at the opposite ends thereof by the screws 25 in lugs 26on the end frames I6 to add additional lengthwise reinforcement to thebasket B. The rods 24 are around the rim of the container. There is alsoa center rod 24a aligned with the trunnions 22 and held in position bythe screws 22a which hold the trunnions 22. v

To prevent water from splashing from the washing machine there isprovided a cover which iii ' cated generally at E5.

includes a semi-cylindrical glass panel the end edges of which areseated in channels 26 in the end rails 21 and the lower ends of theserails are provided with padded feet 28 that bear on the curled flange IQof the tub or container A. This cover may be removed when loading orunloading the washing machine.

A casing 29 is secured to the lower part of the side it of the tub orcontainer A. In the casing 29 is a drain passage 39 and an inlet passage3i. These passages (it, St at their inner ends register with an opening32 in the side of the tub or container. Over the inlet passage 3! issecured a perforated plate. 33 which strains the water being circulated.In the top of the casing 25 is an impeller chamber 84 that is open andthe outer end of the inlet passage 3i registers with the center of thebottom of this impeller chamber. Casing 29 is formed with a lateralelbow 35 formed with a passage. 36 with the inner end thereof openinginto the sides of the impeller chamber 34. The elbow 35 forms part ofthe discharge conductor 55.

An elongated, horizontal disposed bracket 3i has a flange 38 on theinner end thereof secured to the side it! of the tub or container A bymeans of screws 38. In an intermediate portion of the bracket 3? is acircular opening 4E1 which embraces and supports in a vertical positionthe motor housing 4!! carrying the conventional electrical motor partsso as to rotate on a vertical axis. There is a depending neck M on thehousing which terminates in a circular flange 53 and this flange 33 issecured by bolts 5 over the open top of the impeller chamber 3 Throughthe neck :32 is a bore 65 in which is rotatably mounted the armaturedrive shaft 4 which canries on its lower end the. impeller ll and theimpeller rotates on a vertical in the impeller chamber 34. There is acounter bore 552 in the neck concentric with the bore 55 holding at itsinner end the gland packing d9 pressed in position by one end of a coilspring 58 held by the cap 5! through which the shaft 46 extends. Shouldany water escape through the gland packing 39 there are a pair of radialducts 52 in the neck above the gland packing to allow the water toescape.

The bracket 3'! terminates laterally in a handle 53 which cooperateswith the handle i3 for moving the washing machine from place to place.Between the. handle 53 and the opening 59 in the bracket 3'! there is anopening which supports the lower end of the discharge conductor indi-This discharge conductor 55 is formed of a lower conduit section 56 andthe lower end of this section 56 is connected by the packed union joint5? to thev upper end of the elbow 35. At the upper end, conduit section59 is formed with a socket 58 that receives the lower end of a rightangled conduit 59. On the inside and at the top the socket 58 is taperedto receive the split metal ring packing 63 which is held in water tightposition by the knurled nut 6| engaging with the threads 62 on the upperend of the socket 58. A packing wash-er 63 is interposed between the nut6i and ring 68 to insure a water tight connection. Thus the dischargeconductor indicated generally at 55 may be swivelled by looseningslightly the nut 6i when it is desired to load or unload the washingmachine.

The outer end of the right angled section 5%) of the conductorterminates over the open top of the tub or container A. The horizontalleg of section 59 extends under the end rail 21 when the cover is on thetub or container A. On the free end of conductor section 59 is thenozzle 64 having a peripherally threaded neck 65 overlapping the freeend of conduit section 59. The threaded neck 65 is secured by means of ascrew 66 and on the end of the neck is a gland packing ES'l held inposition by the nut 88 thereby insuring a water tigt connection. The.bottom of the nozzle E i flares outwardly as at St and is threaded onthe inside as at T0 to receive the nozzle head it so that the nozzlehead may be removed for the purposes of cleaning. On the. opposite sidesof the nozzle G l are segmental shields '72 which act to deflect waterinto the tub or container and prevent the water from splashing over thesides thereof.

The nozzle head "M is formed with a solid hub l3 and in this hub arepreferably four inwardly tapering openings la. Radiating from the hub F3are bafiie ribs l5 preferably being eight in number and spacedcircumierentially to provide openings it between these ribs. The. baffleribs are disposed at an angle with respect to the radius of the hub T3.The outer ends of the ribs join the periphery of the head ii. Theformation of the nozzle head H cooperating with the shields '52 causethe water being discharged into the washing machine to assume the shapeof a stream of S-shaped configuration which is very eificient forcleaning articles in the washing machine.

iransversely across the casing 29 is a tapered bore ll in which isrotatably seated the drain valve plug it having a central opening "E9 inregistry with the. drain passage 3 The valve plug 1'8 is formed with alateral reduced stem 86 which rotates in a screw cap 36 which cap closesthe open end of the bore 1?. Embracing the stem 80 is a coil spring 82which bears on the plug valve '58 and the screw cap 8! for the purposeof holding the plug securely in the bore of the casing 29. It will benoted that the inner end of the bore ll is closed thereby providing aunique construction that can leak only at one end. To operate the plugvalve l8 I provide a handle 83 secured to the stem 38 by the screw 84.

From the foregoing description of the construction of the circulatingsystem it will be understood that dirty water may be drained through thepassage 30 when desired to replenish the water. Water is circulated bycentrifugal force from the. impeller 41 through the discharge conductorindicated generally at 55 and the water is discharged downwardly overthe articles in the basket B to be washed. Water is drawn from thebottom of the container or tub A through the screen and passage 3! anddriven by centrifugal force through the discharge conductor 55.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A washing machine comprising an open top container for washing liquidand articles to be washed including end, side and bottom walls, one ofsaid end walls formed with an opening and the other carrying a handle, abracket mounted on the said one end wall terminating in a handle, amotor carried by the bracket, a casing secured to the said one end walland formed with dual passages one above the other in registry at theirinner ends with said opening, said casing formed with an impellerchamber in communication with one of the passages, an impeller disposedon a vertical axis mounted in the chamber and operatively connected withthe motor, and a discharge conductor connected at one end with theimpeller chamber and terminating in a nozzle over the container, saiddischarge conductor connected at an intermediate point with the bracketwhereby said conductor is supported, the other of said passagesproviding a drain for the casing.

2. A washing machine comprising an open top container for washing liquidand articles to be Washed including end, side and bottom walls, one ofsaid end walls formed with an opening and the other carrying a handle, abracket mounted on the said one end wall terminating in a handle, amotor carried by the bracket, a casing secured to the said one end walland formed with dual passages one above the other in registry at theirinner ends with said opening, said casing formed with an impellerchamber in communication with one of the passages, an impeller disposedon a vertical axis mounted in the chamber and operatively connected withthe motor, a discharge conductor connected at one end with the impellerchamber and terminating in a nozzle over the container, said dischargeconductor connected at an intermediate point with the bracket wherebysaid conductor is supported, the other of said passages providing adrain for the casing, and said discharge conductor formed with a swiveljoint above the bracket for swinging the terminal thereof over the opentop of the container.

3. A washing machine comprising an open top container for washing liquidand articles to be washed including end, side and bottom walls, one ofsaid end walls formed with an opening and the other carrying a handle, abracket mounted on the said one end wall terminating in a handle, amotor carried by the bracket, a casing secured to the said one end walland formed with 40 dual passages one above the other in registry attheir inner ends with said opening, said casing formed with an impellerchamber in communication with one of the passages, an impeller disposedon a vertical axis mounted in the chamber and operatively connected withthe motor, a discharge conductor connected at one end with the impellerchamber and terminating in a nozzle over the container, said dischargeconductor connected at an intermediate point with the bracket wherebysaid conductor is supported, the other of said passagesproviding a drainfor the casing, said discharge conductor formed with a swivel jointabove the bracket for swinging the terminal thereof over the open top ofthe container, and said casing equipped with a valve disposed across theother of said passages to control the same whereby spent wash water isdrained from the casing.

4. A washing machine comprising a container formed with an opening inone of its walls in the lower portion thereof for the passage of washingfluid, a single casing secured to the container surrounding the openingand equipped with a valve controlled drain passage and a separate inletpassage for the circulation of the fluid and both of which passagescommunicate directly at one end with the opening in the container, saidcasing further provided with an open impeller chamber communicating withthe other end of the inlet passage, a cover for the impeller chamberdetachably connected with the casing, an impeller mounted in thechamber, an impeller shaft connected with the impeller and journalled inthe cover, a discharge conduit communicating with the impeller chamberand terminating above the container in a nozzle, a motor operativelyconnected with the impeller shaft, and a motor mounting means carried bythe container and engaging the discharge conduit for supporting themotor and discharge conduit.

THOMAS R. SHEETZ.

